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PURC'
' UI S I A' A
S IG'
I TS
I ' I C A' C '
A ' I S C ' UR S ' ' ' ' I ' ' R' '
I'
M' ' T I '
G
' I RS T ' APT IS T
PR' ' I ' ' ' C '
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' ' US '
T his
di s c ours e was p re p a re d wit h no t h ough t
of pub l i c a t ion
p u lp
c ours e of
,
b ut s imp l y in t h e o r
dinary
i t p reparat ion to
v
i
g e to a s ing l e
.
c on gregat ion an out l in e of an eve n t of grea t
im port an c e in our na tiona l h is tory w h os e c en
,
t e nn i al
in
i s now b e ing approp riat e l y c e l eb rat e d
S t Louis and t o s ugge s t i t s s piritua l in t e r
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e
t
a ti on
r
p
.
Imm ediat el y upon t h e de l iv e ry of
th e d is c ours e m an y re que s t s w e r e made t h at
i t migh t b e p rin t ed f o r dis t rib ut io n an d pre
s e rvat ion
e ro u s
.
I t i s now prin t e d t h rough t h e ge n
o ffe r of a frien d w h o h eard i t
.
T he '
is ia n
ou
P u r ch a s e
a
S i gn i f i c a
a n
d i ts
n ce
12,
I 3
' o r d th o u h a s t b e en
Ps a l m 8 5 : I
f a v o r a b l e u n t o thy l an d ' th o u h as t b r o u g ht b a ck
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,
i i ty
t h e ca p t v
i ve
y ie l d
g
hi m ,
th a t
he r
and
of
' a co b
w h i ch
i n cr e a s e
is
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go o
d
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an d
o ur
R i g ht e o u s n e s s
s h a ll s e t u s
i n t h e w ay
d
l an d
th e ' o r
e a,
s h a ll
of
' is
s h a ll
s h a ll
go b ef o
s t ep s
re
'
.
Th ese w ords contai n an acknowledgm en t
and a prophecy a grate ful rec o gnition o f
God s hand i n past mercies an d in n ational
del iveran ce a n d an expres s ion o f devout con
fi d e n ce in h is continued g oodness to be man i
fest i n nati onal growth an d p rosperity n o t for
g etting that all true growth and prosperity
nation al o r pe rsonal a re c onditioned u p on
righteousness o f Character and obedience to
Go d s comm andments
These wor ds w ere sp o ken b y th e inspi red
h istorian an d prophet o f ancient I s rae l They
a re equal ly appl i cable to our l and an d to ou r
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t ime an d can be sp oken h umb ly an d co n fi
d e n tly by the Ch ri st ian citizen o f Americ a as
he l ook s back ove r ou r past h isto ry an d looks
out upo n the future o f ou r Republi c
Lo rd
tho u h ast been favorabl e u n to thy l an d ' tho u
h as t brought back the captivity o f J ac o b
' e a the Lo rd shall give that w h i c h
i s good an d ou r land shal l y iel d h er i n
cr e a s e f
W e are dependent utterly upon God
for future p r o s pe r itv an d bl ess ing The God
o f the fathers must be th e Go d o f the Ch il dren
th e God o f th e foun ders o f th e Republ i c m ust
be th e God o f thei r descendants B ut h is
blessing and hi s p rosperity are not u n co n d i
ti o n e d
Righteousn es s exalteth a n ation but
s i n i s a c u rse to any p eople an d its u ltimate
overth row an d destruction
Ri ghte o usnes s
must go be fore h im an d m ust s e t u s i n th e
w ay o f hi s steps
' i ce c rime pol iti cal and
busi ness c o rruption unb elie f and n egl ect o f
God a re certain to breed rottenness i n th e
foundation s o f the Republ ic The God fea r
ing righteou s man i s not only th e inhe rito r
o f the past but the con se rvator o f th e futu re
H i s faith h i s ri g h teou sne ss gives stabil ity to
th e n ation and th e h o pe o f c onti nued an d i h
c reasing prosperity an d gre a tness
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The greatest World s Fai r w h ich t h is c oun
t ry an d perhap s the worl d has ever seen i s
now un der way in S t L o uis hav in g bee n
opened to the p ubli c on Ap ri l 3 oth The m ore
formal se rvi ces o f th e dedi cation we re o b
served on e year a go o n Apri l 3 oth 1 90 3 b e
ing parti cipated in by the Pres ident the ex
Pres ident and other di gn itaries of the nati o n
the Gove rn o rs o f fo rt y States th e di plom atic
rep resen tatives o f thi rty n ati on s o f the wo rld
and thousand s o f t roops su fficien t to ad d
spl en dor to the o ccasion an d to represent the
m il ita ry pow e r o f a m ighty Empi re B ut w hy
on April 3 oth 1 903 ? B ecause that was th e
one hundredth anniversa ry o f wh at i s know n
in h i story as th e Loui s iana Pu rchase
by
whi ch a territo ry l arge r by fi fty fi v e th o usan d
squa re m iles than that o f the o riginal thi rteen
S tates and almost as l ar g e as Continental Eu
rope was pu rchased o f Fr a nce an d added to
the domain o f the re cently foun ded Re p ubl i c
' e w o f us perhaps have any adequate idea
o f the exten t o f th is purchase o f the ci rcum
stan c es wh i ch l ed u p to it and of its s i gn i fi
can ce to the cause o f hum an l ibe rty an d the
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P rotestan t rel igion I t has been easy fo r those
w h o have studi ed the event an d its results to
p lace it amon g the great events o f m o de rn
h i story One w ri te r c arried away by h i s e n
ha s classed i t i n importance w ith
t hu s i a s m
the Decla ration o f I ndepen den ce the P rotes
tant Re formation and even w ith th e outpour
ing o f th e Spi ri t o n the Day o f Pentecost and
wi th the R es urrection o f Je su s Ch rist An
othe r w riter with a more mode rate e nthu
s ia s m
an d ima g in ation has sa id
O f al l
d istin g ui sh ing events in the gl orious career o f
th is country aside from its t ri umph s fo r l ib
e r ty an d fo r union none sh in e forth w ith su ch
impe rishabl e l uste r as th e acquis ition o f that
splendid empi re west o f th e M i ssi ssippi R ive r '
an d when the impa rti al h is torian sh al l w rite
up th e great men an d th e g reat m easure s o f
ou r n ation he w il l pl ace a t the top o f the roll s
Thomas Je ffe rson an d th e Loui siana Pur
chase
I t w il l b e seen howeve r that Thomas
Je ff e rson w as not an active agen t i n th e
tran saction and h ad very l ittle to do w ith it
i n i ts fina l outcom e except that h e wa s P res i
den t o f the Un ited S tates at the time a nd w as
an unintentional and un expected in strument
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i n the hand s of th e Almighty who i s P re s i
d ent ove r al l huma n a ffai rs Al l students of
Ame ri can h isto r y c on fess that few events have
occu rred on thi s c ontinent o r i n the w or l d
w hi ch have bee n fol l owed by w ider an d m ore
b e n e fi ce nt results an d w h i ch have exhibited
m ore unm istakably th e sudden an d unlooked
for o rdering o f divine Prov iden c e I t w as as
sudden an d unexpe cted as when one bright
M ay mo rnin g th e far aw ay Phi lippine I slands
w e re tosse d mysteriously into the l ap o f thi s
Nation fo r thei r em an cipation an d protection
an d education and became w ithout asking
ou r consent fo r the tim e being one o f th e de
pen dencies o f this Republi c
B ut what w as the p revious hi story o f th i s
s o c al led Louisian a territory
an d w hat was
its exten t ? In the yea r 1 682 a distingui sh ed
French explorer Robe rt Cave li e r gene ral ly
kn own as La S alle descen ded the M iss issi p pi
Rive r fr o m its Northe rn w aters to its m outh
fo r purposes o f explo ration i n order it i s
s aid to fin d a trade route for t h e t ranspor ta
tion of h eavy skins
S ixteen years be fore
a t th e age o f 2 3 h e had mi grated from
Fran c e to M ontre a l an d be c ame th e possesso r
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an estate t h e re B ut love o f adventu re o f
d is cove ry a nd o f con que st had sent him forth
on shorter explo ration s al ready B ut th is was
the fi rst t im e h e had been l ed so far an d so
fa r as kno wn h e wa s the first w h ite m an to
make the en ti re vo y age to the m outh o f th e
rive r Othe r explorers h a d been as so ciate d
w ith h im or had m ad e thei r ow n ve ntu res i nto
th e w il d n ew territor y uninh abited except by
I ndians O n the west shore o f t h e r ive r about
three leagues from the m outh he e rected a
cross b earing the arm s o f the ki ng un furled
th e fl ag o f Fran ce san g a Te Deum an d took
po sses s ion o f the territo ry i n th e nam e o f
Louis ' uatorze an d nam ed the country
Loui si ana a fte r th e k ing defin ing the ter
r i to r y
somewhat in defin itely a s extend ing
n o rthw a rd
to th e source o f t h e river and
al ong i ts various branc h es an d we stwa rd to
Texas i n th e S out h and to the Rocky Mou n
tain s in the North T h e a rea c omprised nearly
a m ill ion s quare m i les an d has been s ub
d iv ided i nto the fol low ing S tates an d Te r r ito
ries
Lo ui siana Arkan sa s ' an sas M i ssou ri
Iowa N ebra ska S outh Dako ta No rth Dakota
M ontana and W y oming and i n cl uded a por
oi
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ti o n also o f Colorado a part o f Idah o Okla
hom a an d the Ind ian Te rrito ry
T h is w ho le
central portio n o f our n ational domain ex
tending from the Gul f o f M exico i n the Sout h
t o the Great Lakes in the ' orth and maki ng
about one th i rd o f o ur p re sent te rritory ex
cluding Alaska was emb raced i n the N ew
French p o ssession cal le d s ometim es New
F ran ce and late r the Loui s iana Purch ase A l
th ough inh abited by scatte red tribes o f abori
fr
quent
attem
ts
had
been
made
t
ex
n
s
o
i
ee
e
p
g
r e i t by wh ite men
meeting
hardships
al
l
o
p
mos t i ncredible expos ure pe ril s tarvation an d
death
The first explo rers were Spania rds
w ho were an imated by th e same pu rpo se wh ich
impell ed Columbus to fin d a wate r-w ay to
Cathay o r Chi na a nd the S pi ce I sl ands by
the westward route an d to se c ur e t h ei r ri ch
trade Th e extent o f Ameri ca was s o l ittle
un derstood that m uch tim e w as spent i n t ry
i ng to find a passage th rough o r a round o ur
contin ent C ip an z o as Japan was cal led wa s
suppose d to l ie m u c h fa rthe r E ast ' inde ed i n
some ol d map s it seem s to h ave been included
I t w as the S pan ish
W ithi n ou r boundaries
p ioneer explorers o f th e s ixteenth c en tury w ho
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fi rs t pene trated Western No rt h America and
d i s c overed th e va s t extent o f ou r c ountry
I n 1 5 1 9 on ly a few ve a rs a fter the d i s co v
e ry o f Ameri c a Do n D iego ' elas quez th e
S pan ish governor o f Cuba sent o u t four cara
vel s commanded b v Don Alon zo Alv arez de
P ineda who s ai led a cross the Gul f o f M exi c o
an d dis c o ve red th e mouth o f a g reat river
and
w hi ch he explore d fo r a few l ea g ue s
cal led th e Ri o de Es p i ri tu S anto T hi s was
H e was p robably th e
th e M is s i ssi pp i R iver
fi rst white man to a pp roa c h th e soi l o f Loui s
iana
I n 1 5 2 7 eigh t yea rs l ate r an other Sp an ia rd
Alvah N un ez Cabeza de ' aca sai led di re c tly
from S pain to Florida whose s wam ps h e
c rossed an d a fte r great su ffe rin g passed be
vond th e M i ss issippi R iver Nearly al l o f thi s
part y peri shed the rema inde r being cast upon
an i slan d w est o f the mouth o f th e river
w h i ch they named app rop riately Th e I sl e o f
M is fo rtun es
Th e sto ries o f these ea rly a d
v entu re s impelled b v a pas sio n fo r d is c ove ry
o r g old are o f th ril l in g interest
A doze n yea rs l ater in {5 39 sti l l anot h er
S pan i ard th e famou s Fernand o d e Soto a
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g ove rno r o f Cuba sailed from Havan a w it h
s ix hund re d men and lan ded i n Fl orida unde r
a commission to con que r the unknow n te rri
tory o f the Gul f o f M exico He fought h is
bloody way a c ros s Flori da Georgia and
Al abama across the M i ss issipp i i nto th e
Weste rn w ilds i n th e vain sea rch fo r gold
A fte r t h ree yea rs w ith ranks depleted by hun
g e r exposure an d h ostile I nd ians the brave
adventu rer died n e a r th e m outh o f th e Re d
Rive r an d was burie d beneath the w aters o f
the M iss issippi h is survivors no t darin g to
leave hi s body i n a g rave lest the Indians
s houl d d iscove r it
Al l these expl orati ons and others took
p lace ne a r l y a centu ry an d a h al f be fo re the
Frenchman La S al le sailed d ow n the Fathe r
o f Waters an d took posses sion o f the vast
territory beyond the Western bank in th e
name o f France and Louis ' I '
It i s n ot n ece ssary to g ive in detai l th e s ub
se quent vicissitudes o f thi s n e w inte rio r worl d
Fran ce hel d i t fo r ei g hty years til l 1 76 2 and
then ced ed i t to Sp ai n to consummate a S pan
is h alliance I t had done n oth in g to occupy
an d d evelop the country bes ides l aying th e
foun dations o f New O rleans I t had leased it
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out to trade rs from w hom i t re c eive d l ittle
revenue an d so th e pos session w a s l ooked u p
on a s o f comparatively l ittl e value a t that time
I n 1 7 6 8 the first S pan i sh g overnor cam e to
N e w O rleans
At that tim e S pain w as i n
possessio n o f by fa r the l a rger part o f A m erica
Fl ori da a strip alon g the Gul f o f M exi c o
Texas Cali fo rnia M ex ico an d that lar g e tra c t
o f territo ry from the Gul f t o the Lakes o u t
o f wh i c h have bee n ca rv e d tw elv e States an d
tw o Te rrito ries e ach o f w h ich i s an emp ire i n
itsel f
S pai n hel d p ossess ion o f the Loui sian a ter
r i to r y fo r fort y yea rs
unti l 1 80 1 and then
to s sed i t back into the hand s o f Fran ce in r e
tu r n fo r a po l itical favo r I t had p roved to
be an expen s ive an d trouble som e P rov in c e
Th e fe w inhabitants were di scontented an d
som etimes ' p en ly rebel l ious at the t ran s fe r
fro m one p ow er to another At th e be g i n
n in g o f the n ineteenth centu r y th e thi rteen
o ri g inal S tates wh i ch h ad entered into a com
pact o f un ion and l iberty unde r the fo rm o f a
R epubl i c an Gove rnm ent had received n o i n
cr e m e n t o f
te r r i to r v
T hey exten ded from
Fl orida northward and ea stward to Ma ine an d
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the unrestri c te d use o f the M issi ss ipp i
Englan d a lso wa s a spi rin g for o wn ers h i p i n
t h at val l ey as it ha d done be fore and w as p re
p ari ng itsel f for open h ostil ities against its
n eig h bor across the C h a nnel so th at war b e
tw een the two nati on s seemed to be a fore
gon e con c l us ion S u c h in b rie f wa s th e con
d ition o f thi ngs at the be g inn in g o f th e n ine
t ee n th centur y
I n 1 80 3 Napol eon B onaparte w as th e Fi rst
Con sul o f F ran ce T hom as Je ffe rson w as th e
P res ident o f th e Un ited S tates an d Robert R
Livin g ston was ou r M in ister to the Fren c h
Cou rt and w as unde r in stru c tion s to p ress ou r
cl aim s an d secu re th e rights o f th e Republ i c
at th e m outh o f the M iss issippi
M atte rs
we re p rogres sing slowly o r rather not at al l
S ometh in g m ore needed t o be done J e ff erson
a ppointed Jam es M on roe as a special e n v o v to
Pa ri s w ith authority to pu rch ase New O rl eans
and th e Fl oridas fo r
I t w a s n ot
th en know n that Fran c e had acqui red f rom
Spa in only Lou isiana
B ut a strange P rov iden c e was workin g o n
the oth e r si de o f the Atlantic Napoleon i t
i s said was attending service in Notre D am e
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Cat h edra l on Easter S unda y B ut h is t h oughts
were n ot on the risen Christ and th e hope o f a
gl o rious immortal ity wh i ch Ch ri st s r es u r re c
t ion in sp ired but on th e h osti le fleet o f Eng
l and s ail ing to wa rds hi s Ameri c an poss es si o ns
T he pu rpose c ame to h im ' the Sp irit o f Go d
fl ash ed i t i nto h is mind ' that he woul d dis
p os e o f the w hole of the Loui s ian a ter ritory
to the United S tates and be rid o f the wh o le
th ing H e i n fo rmed Tal ley ran d o f h is sudden
pu r po se who immed iately saw an d s tart l ed M r
Livingston w ith the p rop os iti on that hi s c oun
t ry purchase the W hole o f Louisi ana
Mr
Liv in g ston to ld h im he d i d no t w ant it At
th at time neithe r Je fferson n o r any othe r
Ame ri can had conceived such an idea How
ever h e i n forme d Tal ley rand th at M r Mo n
roe was expected in two days and they woul d
take th e m atte r into c onsi deration Napo leon
told hi s m in isters and h i s brothers Lucien
and Joseph who hea rd the ne ws w ith aston
i s hm e n t an d indi g nation
an d p rotested v e
hem e n tly against Napoleon s plan but w ith
o ut avail They only met w ith anger an d a
fixed determ ination H e s ummone d B arb e
M a r bo i s mi ni ste r o f the treasury and sa id to
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h im
t ion
i ana
it is
re c t
8
perem ptori ly : I rresolution an d d el ibera
are no longe r i n seas o n I ren ounce Louis
I t is n ot on l y New O rl ean s that I cede '
th e w hole colony w ithout reserv e I d i
yo u to negotiate th e a ffai r Have an i n
te r v i e w thi s ve ry day wi th M r Liv ingston
S u ffice it to say that in twenty days from
that Easte r S un day w ith no time to re c eiv e
in stru ction s from th e home government th e
tran sacti on w as completed the treat y o f ces
s ion was d raw n up an d s i gn ed by Liv in g ston
an d M on roe on th e part o f th i s country an d
by B a rb ' M arb o i s o n the part o f France an d
th i s v a st in lan d ter ritory w hose boun da ries
even then we re unknow n and undeterm ined
w a s tran s fe rred to the U n i te d States for the
sum o f
wh ich p roved to be
o n lv about two cent s an acre pass in g from the
p osses sion o f an i ntole rant Roman Cathol i c
m ona rch y to th e ownersh i p o f a Protestant
l ibe rty —
lovin g Republ i c w ithout w a r o r blood
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We can un derstan d the significan c e o f that
pu r c hase to day better than i t was understood
a t that time but so g reat and fa r -reach in g i s
i t that even we i n th e l ight o f subsequent de
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v e lo pm e n ts
an d results find it di fficult i f not
impossible fully to compreh end it
At the time there was serious an d veh ement
oppo sition to the an nexation on the part o f
many lead ing citizen s Je ffers on wh o favo red
it though h e had n oth in g to do i n shaping
the final outcome
su ffered bitter det rae
tion and pers onal ridicule
S enator P icke r
ing o f M assachusetts sai d :
I t I S declared in
the th i rd a rti cle ' of the treaty ' that the i nhab
i tan ts o f the c ed ed terri tory shal l be i n co rp o
rated in th e Un io n of the Un ite d States
But
neither th e Presi den t an d Senate nor the
P resident an d Con g res s are competent to such
an act o f inco rporation
Rep resentative Gris
T h e vast an d
w old o f Conne cticut s aid :
unmanageable extent w hi ch the accession o f
Loui si ana w il l give the Un ited S tates the con
sequent d ispersion o f ou r popul ation an d the
destructi o n o f th at balan ce wh ich i t i s so i m
portant to maintai n between the Eastern and
Weste rn S tates th reaten s at n o very distant
R epr e
day th e s ubversion o f ou r Union
Gri ffin o f ' i rgin ia sai d
He
s e n ta ti ve
feared the e ffect o f the vast exten t o f ou r
emp ire ' h e feared th e e ffe c ts o f th e in creased
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va l ue o f labor the de c rease i n the v al ue o f
l ands an d t h e in fl uence o f cl imate up on our
c itizen s w h o sh oul d m igrate th it h er H e di d
fear ' t h ough thi s l an d w as represented as
fl ow ing wi th m ilk an d h on ey ' t h at t h i s Ede n
o f t h e N ew Wo r l d woul d prove a cemete ry
fo r th e bod ies o f ou r c iti zen s
An d S enato r
Jam es Wh ite o f Delaw are s ai d :
B ut as to
Louis iana— t h is new immen se un b ounde d
worl d—i f i t s h ou l d eve r be in corp orated i nto
t h e Un i on o f wh ich I have no idea and wh i c h
can o nly be done by ame nding th e Constitution
I bel ieve i t w il l be the greatest c urse that coul d
at p resent be fal l us I t may be p roductive o f
in numerable evils and especial ly o f one that I
fea r to eve r l ook up on O ur citiz en s w i ll be
removed to the imm ense di stan c e o f two o r
three thousan d m i les from t h e c api tal o f the
Un ion whe re the y wi ll s carce ly eve r feel the
rays o f the Gen e ral G o ve m m en t—th ei r a ffe c
t ion s w il l be c om e al ienated ' they wi l l gradual ly
begin to v i ew us as strange rs — t h ey w i ll fo rm
othe r comme rcial connection s an d ou r in te r
ests w i l l becom e d i stinct An d I do say that
was a most eno rmous sum to
give
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2 1
S uch reas oning soun ds strangely fami liar to
ou r m ode rn ears who have heard the dis cus
s ion s about Al aska an d the San dw i c h Isl
an ds an d ou r relation s to Cuba Porto Ri c o
an d th e Ph ilippines The results h ave pr o ve d
not only h ow groundless were thei r fears i n
every pa rti cular but that the dream s o f the
m ost san g uin e came far short o f what has been
actual ly realized
Thi s v ast area o f the Loui siana Purch ase
wh ich i s now called the M iddle West c om
p rising fou rteen States an d Territories had
at the l ast census a popul ation of nearly 1 5
and an estim ated wealth o f mo re th an
s ix an d hal f bi llion s o f dol l ars T h e barre n
w ilde rness as it w as sometimes cal led whi ch
coul d b reed only m iasma an d death has b e
come th e gran ar y o f the n ati o n an d almos t
o f the w orld an d i s fo un d capab l e o f suppo rt
ing a population many times l arger than i t yet
c ontain s I t i s ri ch i n ever y p roduct that goes
to make th e wealth o f a n ation or is necessary
fo r the supply of th e n eeds o f an advancing
ci v il iz ation
I ts citizens are an i n se p arable
pa rt o f the Republ i c an d v ie w ith th e res i
d ents o f the East in t h ei r loyalt y an d devotion
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22
to the Governmen t and to ou r Ame ri c an
s ti tu t i o n s
in
.
An d m ore than that Th is la rge section has
given ample r s cope fo r th e expans ion o f the
N ation an d fo r the deve l opment o f the R e
p ubl i c towards its un fol ding destiny I t was
but th e begin ning o f th at p roces s o f e x p a n
s ion w h i c h now c ove rs s o large a part o f th e
conti nen t betw een the two o cean s and h as
m ade ou r Nation a great w orld po w er
The
No rthw este rn section exten ding to the Pa
an d t o the B r itish posses s ions
cifi c O c e an
was added by explo ration an d t reaty by th e
yea r 1 8 1 9 F l ori da was c eded to us by S pa in
i n 1 8 1 9 Texas was annexed i n 1 84 5 Ca l i
fo rn i a Nevada Utat
r i z o n a an d New Mex
i co came to u s in 1 848 Al aska wh i c h was
c al led S ewa rd s Folly an d has be c ome a b o
n anza of gol d an d fish an d fu r o f incal cul able
v al ue w as purchased i n 1 86 7 fo r
An d s in c e t h en h ave com e to u s w hat m ay be
c al led our I sl and w ards w hos e future i s yet
to be determ ined When w e t h ink o f the
th irteen ori gin a l S tates 'ust sta rting out i n to
i ndep endent nation a l exi sten c e appa rently
feebl e i n resour c es w itho ut expe rien c e an d
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24
an d Spain w e re Roman Cat h ol i c c ountries a s
i ntolerant an d rep res sive o f rel igious an d c iv i l
freedom as su c h countries have al ways been
w h en th ey have ha d the powe r Th is c ountry
w as a fre e c ountry a country i n w h i ch th e
en unciation o f c ivi l l iberty as a fun damenta l
p rinciple was accomp anied by th e p roclama
tion o f rel i gi ous l iberty to al l the inh abitants
thereof A s the P rovi den c e o f God guided
Col umbus s outhwar d to the West I ndies an d
pos s ibl y saved thi s c ountry from being a R o
m an Cathol i c countr y so the P rovidence o f
God sn at c hed ou r great We st from the i ro n
g rasp o f a Roman Cathol i c power an d opene d
i t to th e en trance an d the v i cto rious mar c h o f
an enligh tened
l i b erty lov ing progress ive
P rotestant c iv il ization
One h und red yea rs ago the re we re a thous
an d Roman Cathol ics w est o f th e M is siss ippi
to a single P rotestant and not a sin gle Protes
tant chu rch from th e g reat rive r to th e Pa c ifi c
O cean Those w ho attempted to fin d settle
m ent there we re m et w ith perse c ution open an d
un remi tting They w ere not al l ow ed to m eet
fo r wo rsh ip ex c ept under severe rest rictions
M ar riage baptism the observan c e o f th e
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2
5
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Lord s S up-pe r a c cord in g to Protestan t usa g e
were all proh ibited under cruel penalties
What woul d have been the condition of thin g s
i f the Un ited S tates ha d been shut i n by
Cathol i c Spai n on the South an d Cathol i c
France on the West it is impossible to tel l
Th is we kno w that thus bounded an d h edged
i n by a wall o f supe rstition an d darkness
Am eri ca coul d n ever h ave become the great
P rotestant nation that it is the m i g hties t
Protestant nation on th e face o f the whole
earth and a great evangeli z in g a g en cy fo r a l l
heathen nation s T he possession o f the West
was i m med iately followed b y the en tran ce o f
Protestant em i g rants an d P rotestant m iss ion
aries The firs t P rotestant preacher to ente r
it i s said was a B aptist John Clark an hon
ored name among th e B aptists of Rhode I sl
and w ho w ent d own the M issi ss ippi alon e i n
a smal l c an oe cam ping i n the woods at
n ight
Another B apti st m iniste r Thomas
M usick walked fr o m ' entucky to M issouri
and foun ded the Fee Fee B aptist Church i n
1 80 7
a church wh ich i s situated w ithin an
hour s ri de o f the groun ds o f the W o rld s
Fai r and i s sti ll in v i g o rous l i fe Th i s church
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6
i s n ow th e m other o f
Prote stan t
chu rch es nearly
o f w hich are o f th e
Ba pti st d enom ination O f th e twenty one m il
l i on s o f popul ation west o f the M issi ss ippi s ix
s eventh s o r eighteen m i llion s are non Ca tho
l ic po ssessing th e spi rit o f th ri ft o f i n te lli
gen c e o f independen ce o f progress whi c h
u sual ly ch aracteriz es those who are under no
e cclesiastical voke It i s not too m uch to say
th at th e ma rvellous prosperity o f the great
an d sti ll grow ing West h as been due in n o
small degree to the fact th at for a h undred
y ears there ha s waved ove r i t the S ta rs an d
Stripes th e embl em o f a free and independent
people un der w h i ch th e han d i s free th e
bo d y i s free the m i nd i s free and th e con
scien ce i s free wh ere al l the c iti zen s a re in
p osses sion o f certain i nal ienabl e rights w ith
wh i c h thei r M aker ha s en dow ed them l i fe
l ibe rty an d the pursuit o f h appin ess
I can n ot speak in detai l o f the great West
a s a fiel d fo r rel igiou s activity o r o f the con
quests al read y won th ere amon g th e native
an d forei g n born population s I t ha s yi el ded
m arvel l ous retu rn s fo r al l spi ritual seed sow
in g an d i s to d a v on e in spi rit w i th the ol de r
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East a homogene o us pa rt o f our common
coun try an i nheritor o f ou r in spi ring t ra
d i ti o n s the po ssesso r o f that w hi ch is hi g h est
an d best in ou r Am eri can c iv il ization than
whi ch no civ il ization i s h igh e r an d better a s
loyal as intelligent an d in l arge part as Ch ri s
tian as the S tates wh i ch l ie al ong the Atlanti c
coa s t
Mo reover th i s great West has now become
an open hi gh way to the h oary and u n e n li ght
ened nations o f th e Far East No deserts in
te r v en e n o mountains
ob struct no hostil e
tribes or peoples h inder the p rogress o f o ur
commerce of o u r enl ightenment o f our civi li
z a ti o n o r o f our rel igion
Th e long searched
for route to Cathay and th e fragrant Spice
I sl and s has been di scovered
Th e shor test
route to Ch ina an d Japan i s Westward a c ross
the Ameri ca n con tinent an d the Pacifi c O cean
Four days and a littl e more an d you see its
waters Twelve days and a l ittl e more an d
you touch the sh ore o f th e fl owe ry ' ingdom
The wh ole heath en w o rld i s w ith in easy reach
o f our Christian knowledge and out rea c hing
love West as w el l as East w e fron t th e na
t ion s o f the ea rth God has opened to u s an
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oppo rt un ity an d endowed us with resou r c es
s uch a s no n ation has posse ssed s in ce th e b e
ginn ing o f time
w hen the morn in g s ta rs
sang togeth er an d al l the son s o f God shoute d
for 'o y
Let us not for g et the hand o f ou r
Go d i n ou r h istory Let u s n o t be unmi nd ful
o f ou r exalted p riv ilege o f ou r unl imited abil
ity o f ou r tran s cen dent desti ny Let us r e
m ember th at o u r mo ral glory m u st far exceed
ou r material o r w e shal l be c h a rged w it h n u
faith fulness an d doomed to deca y that h is
righteousnes s m ust go be fo re h im and set u s
in the way o f h i s step s
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